U.S. U-20 MNT Squad Set for Torneo de las Americas in Kennesaw, Ga. in late November

U-20 MNTNov 8, 2010

CHICAGO (Nov. 8, 2010) -- U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team head coach Thomas Rongen has finalized 18 of the 20 players that will participate in the Torneo de las Americas in Kennesaw, Ga., from Nov. 21-29. The U.S. will face Colombia on Nov. 26 and Mexico on Nov. 28 in the three-team round robin tournament held at the Kennesaw State Soccer Stadium.

Rejoining Rongen’s squad for the first time since the match against Mexico at the Dallas Cup on March 28 is midfielder Amobi Okugo, who has since made 11 appearances for the Philadelphia Union during his rookie season in Major League Soccer. The 19-year-old was part of the U.S. team that qualified for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship that year.

In total, seven players from MLS will be joining the American team in Georgia, including Juan Agudelo, who recently started both games in the New York Red Bulls playoff series against the San Jose Earthquakes. Tristan Bowen will also be making his first trip to a U.S. camp since December 2009, when he traveled with the U-20 MNT to Spain. Should the Los Angeles Galaxy advance to the MLS Cup final, Bowen will join the team in Georgia immediately following that game on Nov. 20.

Leagues in seven different countries will be represented on the U.S. team in Kennesaw, including two domestic leagues. Two players from Portugal, Gale Agbossoumonde and Greg Garza, two from England in Cody Cropper and Sebastian Lletget, and one each from Croatia (Alex Molano), Mexico (Moises Orozco), Germany (Parker Walsh), and Israel (Alex Zahavi) join the domestic-based group.

There are two players without professional experience on the 18-man list. Omar Salgado will enter the Major League Soccer draft in January 2011. The lone youth player is goalkeeper Eduardo Fernandez, who will be the first representative of Real Salt Lake AZ to join a U-20 MNT training camp.

The final two places on the roster will be decided during the NCAA College Cup tournament.